Woman put on pyre alive? Post-mortem spins mystery“AGRA/MEERUT: In a dramatic turn of events, police pulled out a newly married 24-year-old girl, Rachna Sisodia, from her funeral pyre after her family alleged that she was being burned alive in the name of cremation by her husband…” (The Times of India)

Young men ‘marry’ to please rain god“MANGALURU: While LGBTs continue to fight for their rights, in a strange incident reported from Mahadeshwara Hills, a boy was made to marry a boy.Well, it was not as if it was a gay wedding, but a young man was made to dress up as a girl and marry another young man – all part of a prayer ritual to bring copious rain, the villagers claim…” (The Times of India)

A Politician and an Ex-Hitman Take on Philippine Leader
“More than 7,000 people have died in the war on drugs since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took office. A politician who has investigated the leader fears for her life and has since been arrested. Her most important witness, a former hitman, is living in hiding in the rainforest…” (Spiegel Online)

Documents Indicate Germany Spied on Foreign Journalists“Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, apparently spied on large numbers of foreign journalists overseas over the course of several years, including employees of the BBC, Reuters and the New York Times. Critics see a massive violation of press freedoms…” (Spiegel Online)